Abduction: How Mozart’s pioneering sex comedy made opera history
Director Constantine Consti is at the helm of Victorian Opera’s contemporary take of The Abduction from the Seraglio. He looks back at the history of Mozart’s masterpiece.
At the time of writing Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Mozart was no longer a child prodigy. His wunderkind years of travelling across Europe in a dizzying whirlwind, playing for royalty and aristocracy, were long gone. At 25 years old, he arrived in the artistic backwater of Salzburg in Vienna after years of limbo and creative stagnation. He had to make his name as a mature composer of repute.
Vienna was under the reign of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. A radical Enlightenment reformer, Joseph II was on a mission to create a nationalistic German-language opera form called Singspiel. This new form was a combination of unaccompanied spoken text and opera sung in German (as opposed to the standard Italian).
The traditions of opera seria (serious and dramatic opera) and opera buffa (comedic opera) dominated the European landscape. Both were mostly sung in Italian and conformed to a strict set of formalistic rules and genre conventions.
A letter from Mozart to his father Leopold at the time reads: “Should I write an opera buffa in the same style as an opera seria?”
In his letters, Mozart quickly began to express a desire to compose opera in what he called a mezzo carattere (middle character style). This was new — something between comic and serious, blurring the boundaries between seria and buffa. Today, we might call this a dark comedy or a dramedy.
In Vienna, Mozart was presented with a libretto that captivated him. It was taken from a play initially entitled Belmont und Konstanze oder die Verführung aus dem Serail (Belmont and Konstanze, or the Seduction from the Seraglio). The initial idea of seduction, sexual predicament and the dangerous allure of the taboo was not lost in the DNA of the project, even as it was renamed Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio).
The exotic setting of a harem played into the current Viennese obsession with all-things Turkish — fashion, military uniforms and music were all in vogue. Not to mention the upcoming 100th anniversary of the defeat of the Ottomans outside Vienna in 1683.
Mozart worked with the finest singers available to ensure the necessary vocal fireworks. The premiere was a complete smash hit, despite interruptions from cabals paid by rival composers to heckle and cause a general ruckus. It was such a success that subsequent composers writing Singspiel could not achieve anywhere near the popularity or success of Die Entführung.
The public grew weary of Singspiel that could not reach the heights of Mozart’s compositional prowess. Soon Italian opera was back in demand in Vienna. Despite the creative heights of the Da Ponte trilogy and The Magic Flute, none of these operas would be as popularly received as Die Entführung.
Constantine Costi will be directing Victorian Opera's Abduction. Photo: Supplied
At its heart, it is a sex comedy. This wasn’t unusual or radical within most opera buffa — but it was Mozart’s ability to compose rich and full characters and to examine what torn sexual desires can do to an individual that makes this a compelling psychological study. Yet, this maturity is always offset by his cheekiness, sex-obsessed letter writing, and irreverent in-jokes both on and off the stage.
His idea of mezzo carattere can be most felt in the fact that much of the sad music in Abduction is in major keys — perhaps this adds a touch of brightness to the sorrow. Despite its darkness and threats of violence, this is, after all, a comedy — no one is going to die, and the lovers will win the day.
Abduction also begins a trend that will continue throughout Mozart’s remaining operas: the canny and complicated heroine.
Both Blonde and Konstanze are strong, sharp and wise in the ways of men. The moral quandary of Konstanze (Do I actually enjoy the world of Pasha?) is a deliciously complicated quandary with no clear answers. She grapples with her dilemma with all the longing, rage and tumultuousness that opera does best.
Constantine Costi, Director of Victorian Opera’s Abduction
Abduction will be held at the Palais Theatre on 12, 14 & 16 August 2025. Book tickets